§ 54C-24.  Change of location of a branch or principal office.

(a) A State savings bank may change the location of its principal office or a branch with the prior written approval of the Commissioner. A request to relocate the principal office or a branch of a State savings bank shall be made in a form acceptable to the Commissioner and shall include information regarding the reason for the proposed relocation, the distance and direction of the move, and any other information that the Commissioner requires in order to reach a decision in the matter.

(b) Not more than 30 days before nor less than 10 days after filing a request to relocate the principal office or a branch of a State savings bank, the applicant shall publish public notice of the request. The public notice shall contain all of the following:

(1) A statement that the request has been filed with the Commissioner.

(2) The physical address of the principal office or branch to be relocated and the physical address of the proposed new location.

(3) A statement that any interested person may make written comment on the request to the Commissioner and that comments received by the Commissioner within 14 days of the date of publication of the public notice will be considered. The statement shall provide the current mailing address of the Commissioner.

(c) The Commissioner shall consider any comments received within 14 days of the date of publication of the public notice under subsection (b) of this section. The Commissioner shall approve a request to relocate the principal office or a branch of a State savings bank if any of the following applies:

(1) The relocation is to a site within the same vicinity as the original location.

(2) The relocation does not result in a material change in the primary service area of the principal office or branch.

(3) The relocation is considered important to the economic viability of the State savings bank or the branch.

(4) The relocation is otherwise found not to be inconsistent with the public need and convenience.  (1991, c. 680, s. 1; 2001-193, s. 16; 2026-31, s. 13.2(c).)